1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to color correction in television systems and more particularly to corrections of hue distortions due to non-standard decoding matrices in color television receivers and monitors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The color information in color television signals, as broadcast, is contained in I and Q signals, the Q signal being transmitted on the same carrier but in quadrature with the I signal. Demodulation at the receiver differs for various receiver types. The I and Q components may be demodulated directly, or as color difference components, R-Y, B-Y, and G-Y, i.e. color difference signals may be derived. When, at the receiver, the color difference signals are demodulated to correspond as closely as possible to the corresponding values at the transmitter, the demodulated signals are referred to as standard color difference signals or standard chroma signals herein.
However, in current receiver design practice, the chroma signals, whether I and Q or color difference signals, are not demodulated to yield the standard signals, but, instead, are demodulated such that the Q signal is effectively decreased relative to the I signal. This is done to maintain more accurately reproduced flesh tones in the picture on the television screen. For receivers in which a demodulator directly furnishes the color difference signals, the hue error reduction is accomplished by choice of demodulation angles and gain ratios for the color difference components which result in an effective Q signal decrease. Chroma signals which have been modified in this manner, i.e. to maintain more uniformity in flesh tones, are herein referred to as modified chroma signals. Virtually all television receivers presently on the market have varying degrees of flesh tone correction, i.e. operate with modified chroma signals.
The modification of the chroma signals described above has, however, an undesirable effect in that the modified B-Y signal is distorted from the standard value. This causes a bluish tinge which is particularly objectionable when viewed with picture components having a predominantly green hue, such as grass foliage.